A Challenge To Chip Accord

Reuters

Published: April 11, 1988

GENEVA, April 10—
The European Community on Friday urged the world trade body GATT to rule that a Japan-United States accord to maintain high prices for Japanese microchip exports violated free-trade rules.

David Woods, official spokesman for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, told a news briefing that the 12-nation Common Market had asked the GATT's ruling council to adopt the report. Japan's Trade Ambassador, Yoshio Hatano, told the council that his Government had not had enough time to study the recommendations of the report. Tokyo needed further bilateral consultations with the Common Market, he added. United States Ambassador

Michael Samuels said the United States would reserve comment on the report until the next regular council meeting, scheduled for May 4.

The GATT panel report ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support a European Community complaint that the 1986 accord had granted special privileges for United States microchip exports to Japan.

The accord was signed after the United States had charged that Japanese companies were dumping microchips on the American market at unfairly low prices.